Man, 19, Cleared Of Rape Charges

March 20, 1999|By DANA TOFIG; Courant Staff Writer

ENFIELD — A 19-year-old Willimantic man was acquitted Friday of raping a high school senior during a party at the University of Connecticut in 1997, sparing him years in prison and a sex-offender label that would have followed him his whole life.

A six-person Rockville Superior Court jury found Gregory Gildea not guilty of first- and third- degree sexual assault and first- degree unlawful restraint. Gildea was accused of raping the girl in a wooded area behind the Carriage House apartments on April 25, 1997.

``We're relieved and obviously grateful to the jury,'' said Gildea's attorney, Patrick Cosgrove of Glastonbury. ``I'm sure it was a difficult case for them. They gave it a lot of thought.''

The jury deliberated more than seven hours over two days before delivering its verdict just before the close of court at 5 p.m. The woman who had accused Gildea began crying uncontrollably as the jury forewoman answered ``not guilty'' to each of the charges. Members of Gildea's family hugged and wept. As the jury of four women and two men left the courtroom after the verdicts were read, some members were also crying.

Both Gildea and his accuser testified during the two-week trial. The woman, now 20, had gone to UConn for Spring Weekend with friends and met Gildea at a keg party. Within minutes they were kissing and soon headed into the woods, where the kissing continued.

The woman said that Gildea forced himself on her, eventually pulling down her pants and raping her. But Gildea disputed that, saying the sex was consensual. Both agreed on one point: When it was over, Gildea got up and walked out, leaving the woman half-naked on the ground. It is behavior Gildea's own attorney described as piggish.

``I think my client has learned a very important and very hard lesson about the way you treat people at all times and having respect,'' Cosgrove said.

The case may have turned on the lack of physical evidence found on the woman's body. The doctor who examined her found no signs of trauma and no visible scrapes or bruises on her body, but added that was not unusual in most rape cases.

Cosgrove said in his closing statement that since the alleged assault occurred in the woods, it would be reasonable to expect some marks. He portrayed the accuser as a woman embarrassed and hurt that Gildea just left when he was finished with her, saying she made up the rape story to save face.

Assitant State's Attorney Elizabeth Leaming had focused on Gildea's inconsistent statements to police as proof he was not a credible witness. She portrayed the defendant as a man who refused to take ``no'' for an answer.